Automated third party verification system

ABSTRACT

A verification system for obtaining, storing and providing access to information regarding a commitment or position of an individual or entity is provided. In one embodiment the verification system comprises an interactive voice response system or computer program interface capable of obtaining and recording information regarding any of a number of commitments from an individual or entity, such as a commitment to change long distance telephone service providers. The verification system comprises a voice response unit configured to query pertinent information from an individual and record the responses to the queries in a digital format. Upon completion of a successful session, the voice response unit forwards the recorded responses confirming consent, to a storage device, such as a computer server. As desired, the recorded responses can be retrieved from the server by telephone or computer for verification of the consent, commitment, or position of the individual or entity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 09/437,591,filed Nov. 9, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,066, the specification ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference as fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to remote data storage and retrievalsystems and in particular to a system for recording and storing aresponse or request, such as a voice response.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Due to advances in technology and a changing political and economicenvironment many industries are being freed from the constraints ofgovernment regulation and controlled monopolies. In particular,utilities such as long distance telephone service, cable, and mostrecently electric utilities, are now entering a free-market environment.This market trend allows companies providing utility services to competefor customers.

Out of competition and the desire for increased profits, companiesdesiring greater market share are now calling potential customers in aneffort to convince or entice these potential customers to switch serviceproviders. For example, a telephone long-distance service provider maycall individuals to entice them to switch companies for their longdistance service. To entice the potential customer to change serviceprovider, the service provider often offer discounted service or rebatesfor changing service. Switching long distance service providers simplyinvolves informing the local service carrier of the appropriate longdistance service provider to allocate the long distance trunk usage toand change the appropriate billing to reflect the new service provider.Often the long distance service provider seeking new customers willwaive any customer fees usually charged in hopes of reaping increasedprofits in the future.

In the past, if the potential customer agreed to change long distanceservice providers they would simply respond in the affirmative duringthe telephone call and the new long-distance service provider wouldindependently call the local telephone service provider to effectuatethe change. While this method worked well for a time, increasedcompetition and entry into the market by unscrupulous businesses causedsome long distance companies to enter into a practice known as slamming.In general, slamming comprises switching a customer's long distanceservice provider without the customer's prior authorization. A longdistance carrier could ‘slam’ a customer by falsely reporting to thelocal telephone service provider that the customer had authorized thechange. The local service provider would change the service asinstructed and the customer, without any knowledge, would receiveservice from this new long distance service provider. The customer mustthen pay the new rate, which is often higher, to the new long distanceservice provider or undertake the process of changing back to their oldservice provider, often incurring a fee. The customer, having beenslammed, had no way to prove they had not ordered the change.

While this example is specific to the long distance telephone industry,other businesses are susceptible to similar practices. For example, thepotential exists for slamming in industries such as cable television,electricity, and even local telephone service.

In response to the widespread practice of slamming, the FederalCommunications Commission (FCC) has adopted a requirements that before acustomer is switch to a new long distance service provider third partyverification must be obtained. Third party verification comprisesverification by an entity independent from the long distance serviceprovider.

Prior art methods of third party verification, while helpful todiscourage slamming, suffers from several drawbacks. First, the processof third party verification is generally performed by independent liveoperators. Because the independent, third party live operators must beavailable when the calls are made to potential customers, the costassociated with advertising a new long distance service provider to acustomer is increased because the additional labor costs associated withthe additional live third party verification operators. This isespecially true when numerous calls are simultaneously being madebecause numerous third party verifiers must be available to providethird party verification. Another disadvantage of using live operatorsis that the potential for fraud still exists in that only the word ofthe third party verifier supports the long distance service providers.

Of course, this is but one exemplary area where some form of independentverification would be helpful. Individuals today depend on telephones,computers and the Internet to conduct business that was previouslyconducted in person. For example, in the past a purchaser of a personalproperty item would have physically traveled to the store to purchasethat item or met with the service provider to purchase a service. Whilethe item may have been obtained on credit, the individual generally hadto sign some form of credit agreement to thereby provide verification tothe merchant of an obligation to pay the debit. The signature alsoverified receipt of the goods by the customer.

Due to the inconvenience of traveling to a merchant and the timeconstraints on individuals, the purchase of goods and/or services bytelephone or Internet is becoming a more popular and widely adoptedmethod of obtaining goods and/or services. The goods are shipped todirectly to the customer and billed most often to a credit card. In thecase of a service, the service is performed and the customersubsequently billed.

While this method of conducting business is convenient, it exposes themerchant or service provider to fraud. For example, after receiving thegoods or service, certain dishonest customers have been known to denythat they ordered the goods or services. Conversely, certain dishonestmerchants have been known to deliver unwanted goods, perform unwantedservices and then subsequently bill for these unwanted goods and/orservices, or even bill for services not performed. Because transactionsare often performed via telephone or Internet, there is no way to verifythat the customer actually ordered the goods or services. Hence, thesetypes of transactions are subject to fraud.

Although the previously discussed examples involve the sale or goods orservices, other situations beyond those of a commercial transaction mayarise where some form of third party verification system may bebeneficial. For example, various types of polling or petition drivescould benefit from the convenience of being conducted by telephone orcomputer. However, previous attempts at such actions by telephone lackedreliability because of a lack of third party verification. Likewise,previous attempts were undesirably expensive because of the costassociated with live third party verification operators.

As discussed above, previous attempts at verifying an individualsdecision, such as consent to purchase goods or services were inadequatefor numerous reasons. One such inadequacy is that the obtainedverification could not be independently confirmed beyond that of thethird party verifier. Another reason previous attempts of verificationwere inadequate is because previous attempts, relying on live operatorsor verifiers, were prohibitively expensive. Yet another drawback ofprevious attempts involve the perpetration of fraud in the verificationsystem because of collusion between the third party and the party hiringor controlling the third party.

Prior art attempts to provide some form of automated third partyverification have several shortcomings. For example, some devices simplyrecord the conversation with a potential customer or party on an analogtape. However, this type of system lacks means to retrieve the recordingin a quick and convenient manner.

For the above mentioned reasons, a method is needed for providing rapidand inexpensive verification of a decision made by an individual locatedremote from the party requiring verification. It is preferred that themethod and apparatus of verification have means for evidencing theagreement or consent of the party to others at a later time. Hence, theverification is preferably reproducible so that the verification can beprovided to another at a later time.

Therefore, a need still exists for an automated third party verificationsystem having the features and advantages described herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the purpose of the invention as broadly describedherein there is provided a verification system for use in a computerenvironment to provide independent third party verification in the formof audio or video files. Use of the verification system includes but isnot limited to instances when an independent and verifiable record ofconsent or of a particular response to a question or series of questionsis desired. In various situations the consent or response may obligate aperson financially or in some other manner.

In one embodiment the verification system described herein comprises aPSTN compatible voice response unit configured to automatically receivea call. The voice response unit presents one or more voice scripts tothe call and digitally records spoken answers provided by the individualparticipating in the call. The recorded answers are cataloged by arecord number in a database and digitally stored on a computer storagedevice, such as a hard disk drive.

If the response of the person is ever called into question, theverification system includes means for the response to be retrieved fromstorage and restored to audio format. Various methods and apparatus maybe adopted to perform the retrieval process. In one embodiment theretrieval process occurs via telephone whereby an authorized user(client) calls the verification system and gains access to the systemwith passwords or passnumbers. Next, the client enters a record numberidentifier to retrieve the proper audio file record from theverification system storage device. Upon retrieval of the record, thevoice response unit converts the file to an audio format for the client.

In another embodiment the retrieval process occurs via a computernetwork such as the Internet. In such an embodiment the verificationsystem includes a computer network interface, such as an Internet serverto facilitate access to the verification system by a client or otherauthorized third party via the Internet. To retrieve the verificationdata a client of the third party verification system accesses theverification system Internet server via the Internet and entersidentification and password information to gain access to the recorddata. Next, the client identifies a record and instructs theverification system to retrieve the record. The verification systemdisplays record information such as name and social security number. Ifthe verification system retrieved the proper record the client downloadsthe audio or video verification file to their client computer over theInternet. The client may then play the audio or video file and mayoptionally patch in or connect other parties during the play back toprovided the verification recording to other parties.

In one alternative embodiment, speech pattern recognition is utilized toprovide further evidence of the recorded individuals statements. In anembodiment including speech pattern recognition, or voice fingerprint,the system performs signal processing on two or more speech samples tocompare the speech patterns to identify if the same individual createdboth samples or audio recordings. In various configurations, the speechpattern recognition may be adopted for use in addition to or instead ofthe speech recording, storage and retrieval described above.

A detailed description of the present invention is provided below inconjunction with FIGS. 1-9.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the participants in a third partyverification process.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a third party verification system.

FIG. 3 illustrates a sample record of the third party verificationsystem.

FIG. 4 illustrates an operational flow diagram of an example process forobtaining third party verification via a telephone connection.

FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed operational flow diagram of an exampleprocess for obtaining third party verification via a telephoneconnection.

FIG. 6 illustrates an operational flow diagram of an example processwhen obtaining third party verification via a computer connection.

FIG. 7 illustrates an operational flow diagram of an example generalprocess for retrieving third party verification via a telephoneconnection.

FIG. 8 illustrates an operational flow diagram of an example process forretrieving third party verification via a computer connection.

FIG. 9 illustrates a detailed operational flow diagram of an exampleprocess for retrieving third party verification via a computerconnection.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate an operational flow diagram of an exampleprocess for third party verification including speech patternrecognition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

1. Overview of the Invention

In general, the present invention comprises a method and apparatus forobtaining, recording, storing, and retrieving third party verificationof a statement or intent of an individual or entity. In one embodiment,the system of the present invention comprises a voice response unitcapable of automatically receiving a call and presenting a number ofquestions to one or more individuals on the opposing end(s) of the line.The VRU records the responses to the questions in a digital format andsubsequently stores and catalogs the responses by reference number on aserver or other mass storage device. Stored responses provideverification of the answers to questions posed by the voice responseunit.

Individuals having access may retrieve the stored verifications from theserver via a telephone retrieval system or a computer interface such asthe Internet. Stored responses confirm consent and thereby confirm andbind the recorded party to their statements.

2. Example Environment

Although other applications are possible, one example environment inwhich the subject invention can be implemented is a third partyverification system as mandated by the Federal Communication Commission(FCC) anti-slamming provisions. In the example environment describedherein, the present invention serves as a third party verificationsystem for a long distance telephone service provider (the client)desiring to contact potential customers to gain market share. Ingeneral, long distance service providers desiring to increase marketshare call potential customers in hopes of convincing them to leavetheir existing long distance company. Upon confirming that the potentialcustomer is interested in changing long distance companies, the customeris connected to the third party verification system so that the thirdparty verification system described herein may obtain and permanentlyrecord the customer's verbal consent to the switch.

Next, the system stores the recorded vocal affirmation of the customer'sdesire to change long distance telephone service providers. The systemstores the recording in digital form on a computer server so that it maybe readily retrieved at a later date to thereby provide confirmationthat the change in long distance service providers was indeedauthorized.

To retrieve the customer's recorded consent an authorized party, such asthe client, can retrieve or download the data via telephone or acustomized Internet web server configured to access the voice recording.

Of course, this is but one possible environment of the presentinvention. Other possible environments that would benefit from theadvantages of the present invention include but are not limited to othernon-regulated or semi-regulated utilities such as electric utilities,cable utilities, cellular service providers, Internet service providersand the like. Other industries that may likewise benefit include anyindustry where products or services or offered or sold via telephone orcomputer such that some form of recorded statement, such as agreement toprovide remuneration in exchange for a product or service, would benefitfrom the present invention. Other envisioned areas of use includepolling, petition drives, telephone stock trading, voting, collectionagencies, environments where confirmation is legally required, travelagents or airlines booking travel itineraries and tickets, mortgagebrokers, banks, automotive or other vehicle service departments or anyother entity requiring some form of verification.

3. First Embodiment

Although the present invention may be configured for use in numerousdifferent fields, for purposes of understanding the present invention isdescribed in a configuration of a third party verification system asused by long distance telephone service providers attempting to increasemarket share by direct calling telesales.

FIG. 1 illustrates the relationship between a long distance telephoneservice provider (L.D.T.S.P.) 110, a potential customer 120, and thethird party verification system 130. In this embodiment the L.D.T.S.P.110 is the client. The client is defined herein as the party,individual, or entity that requires third party verification and isresponsible for initiating the verification recording process. In otherembodiments the client may include but is not limited to, a pollster, amagazine subscription seller, seller, utility, order taker or otherparty described above desiring some form of verification of atransaction, statement or agreement at a later data.

It is contemplated at in one embodiment the L.D.T.S.P. 110 performtelesales at a location remote from the potential customer 120 and fromthe third party verification system 130. The L.D.T.S.P. 110 would thuscontact potential customers 120 by telephone and upon obtaining customerconsent to change long distance company the L.D.T.S.P. contacts thethird party verification system 130. Eventually the customer isconnected to the third party verification system so that consent to thechange in telephone service can be permanently recorded for laterverification. Hence communication occurs between each of the threeentities 110, 120, 130.

After obtaining verifiable consent to change long distance serviceproviders, another verification requesting entity 140 or the customer120 may request verification of the consent to change long distancecompanies. Accordingly, communication between the L.D.T.S.P. 110 and thethird party verification system 130 occurs. In an alternative embodimentthe verification requesting entity 140 may directly contact the thirdparty verification system 130.

In an alternative arrangement, an agent (not shown) performs telesaleson behalf of the L.D.T.S.P. 110 thereby allowing the agent and the thirdparty verification system 130 to be co-located.

FIG. 2 illustrates one example configuration of the third partyverification system of the subject invention. As shown, a network 210forms a center hub to facilitate communication between one or moreservers 212, 214, 216, one or more voice response units (VRU) 218, 220,222, one or more Internet servers 230, and various other supporthardware (not shown). If remote from the third party verification systemthe L.D.T.S.P. 110, connects via a high capacity dedicated line 232 to avoice response unit of the third party verification system.Alternatively, the L.D.T.S.P. 110 may connect via a standard telephonecommunication line 234 to the PSTN 240, the PSTN in turn connecting tothe voice response unit 218.

Each voice response unit 218 provides automated answering, voiceresponse and dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) monitoring of incomingcalls. The voice response unit 218 of the subject invention comprises aPentium based motherboard having various interfaces and connectors. Inone embodiment the voice response unit comprises a housing containing ahard disk drive, a T1 card, a network (LAN) card and PSTN interfacecard, all of which operate, in once example embodiment, under a Unixoperating system. Each voice response unit 218, configured in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention, includes additionalsoftware configured to transfer data to and from the voice printservers. In one embodiment this software is written in C programminglanguage.

In one embodiment the interface card comprises a Dialogic card. TheDialogic card interfaces with the T1 card to provide the functionalityof voice syntheses, and voice recording. The Dialogic card also includesmeans to store the digitized voice files before pushing the voice filesto a voice print server. Dialogic Corp is located in North America atParsippany, N.J.

In one embodiment the voice response unit 218 includes a dual T1 accessconfiguration thereby providing access for 48 incoming lines, 47 ofwhich are voice channels and one of which is a data channel. The datachannel in conjunction with the T1 card carries and properly assigns ANIdata to each of the 47 voice channels. In the embodiment describedherein, each voice response unit 218 is shared among various clients 110to thereby more fully utilize the resources of the third partyverification system although it is contemplated that in otherembodiments each voice response unit is dedicated to a particularentity. Each client 110, in one example, each L.D.T.S.P. , is preferablyprovided a different access number to distinguish records from those ofother L.D.T.S.P.

Each of the one or more voice response units 218 connects to thenetwork. The network 210 may comprise any one of many variousconfigurations of networks available for use at the present time, suchas token ring, Ethernet, or other network that may be developed in thefuture. The network 210 provides data routing services to hardwareconnected thereto. In one embodiment the network 210 comprises a localarea network.

Connecting to the network 210 are various servers 212-216. At least oneserver 212 is configured as a voice print server to store data recordsincluding digitized voice recordings evidencing verification or consentsuch as to a change in long distance service provider. Servers 212having large storage capacity are known by those of ordinary skill inthe art and accordingly are not discussed in great detail herein. In oneembodiment the servers 212-216 may comprise a pentium based processingdevice having an array of large capacity hard disk drive storagedevices. In one embodiment the server 212 operates under the control ofLinux operating system although in other embodiment other operatingsystem may be adopted.

Each server 212 preferably includes some form of data base software tocatalogue and manage each of the plurality of verification voice printrecords. One SQL-type data base software well suited to this particulartask is available from Informix of Menlo Park, Calif. However, otherdata base programs such as DBZ and Oracle may also be configured toachieve the function of the present invention.

Also included in server 212 is associated disk drive array controllers,network cards, I/O cards and the like. As these types of devices areknown by those of ordinary skill in the art, their construction andoperation is not discussed in detail herein.

One or more Internet servers 230 also connect to the network 210. TheInternet server 230 hosts software responsible for operation of the website capable of providing access, via the network 210, to the voiceprint server 212 for record retrieval. Due to the wide spread expansionof the Internet 240, Internet servers are known by those of ordinaryskill in the art. In one embodiment, the Internet server 230 comprises aPentium based computer network server utilizing a windows based NToperating system or a Linux operating system. Apache Web Software hoststhe third party verification system web page to thereby allow World WideWeb access to the recorded verification information.

The Internet server 230 connects to the Internet 240 and the PSTN 244 tofacilitate access by a remote use, such as a L.D.T.S.P. 110 via theInternet or PSTN.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary sample record 300 as might be recordedby a voice response unit 218 and stored on a voice print server 212operating in accordance with the subject invention. Preferably eachrecord 300 is arranged as a number of fields of information as is commonin data base records. As shown, the example record 300 comprises arecord number field 302 designed to identify the record at the exclusionof other records. Also included is a name field 304, address field 306,and field for other personal information, such as a social securitynumber field 308, and birth date field 310. The personal informationfield are often used for security purposes to verify the identity of theindividual. It is anticipated that the textual information contained infields 302-310 is displayed on a computer screen or other form ofdisplay when the record is remotely accessed at a later time.Information displayed in fields 302-310 is obtained and entered by theL.D.T.S.P. caller and uploaded to the third party verification system ormay be obtained by the third party verification system in non-verbalform.

The example record also includes a digitized voice recording field 312.The voice recording field 312 contains the digitized voice recordings ofthe individuals responses to questions posed by the voice response unit.Examples of the types of question that are presented by the voiceresponse unit 218 include but are not limited to the individuals name,address, telephone number, social security number, birth date, and theresponses to various questions posed by the voice response unit. Thevoice response unit 218 may of course be programmed with any of a numberof application specific questions. In the example embodiment describedherein the questions posed are directed to gain the consent from thecustomer or individual connected to the voice response unit to changelong distance telephone service provider.

Additional storage fields 314 are optionally included in the record toprovide additional flexibility to record additional information.

In other embodiments it is contemplated that the voice or computer textscript could be adapted to record various other types of data includingbut not limited to voting, polling, purchasing, changing serviceproviders, club membership, subscription purchasing, appointmentscheduling, or other form of verification mentioned above.

4. Operation

In operation, the present invention may be configured to function withdata recording and retrieval interfaces via a telephone or computer. Forpurposes of brevity only the Internet access and telephone accessmethods are discussed in detail herein. However, it is contemplated thatother means of recording and accessing the data may be used to achievethe operation of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an operational flow diagram of one exemplary methodof operation of the present invention. The operation shown, customizedfor obtaining consent from a potential customer, is utilized to obtainconsent with third party verification from the potential customer. At astep 400, the operation establishes communication with a potentialcustomer. Most often this is performed via a direct telephone connectionover the PSTN although in other embodiments the communication link mayexist over another medium.

Next, at a step 402, the operation attempts to obtain consent from thepotential customer. Most often step 402 is achieved via personal voicecommunication by a live operator who is able to expressing theadvantages of the proposed good or service, such as the new longdistance carrier service, and interact with the potential customer.

While the personal and interactive communication from live operatorcontact often provides most productive, the process may also beinitiated by a computerized and automated voice response unit thatattempts to obtain third party verification prior to with communicationfrom a live operator. Causing the voice response unit to initiate thecall and obtain initial confirmation from the potential customer reducesthe number of calls with which the live operator must interface therebyreducing the number of live operators and the cost of operation. Initialscreening may be undertaken by recognizing DTMF tones provided by thepotential customers in response to quires from the voice response unit.

Upon obtaining consent or other particular response, the operatorinitiates a communication link to a third party verification system.This occurs at a step 404.

Next, the operation branches to different routines depending on whetherthe operation will be a “blind transfer” or a “conference and transfer”type handoff. The left-hand branch of the details a blind transfer whilethe right-hand branch details a conference and transfer.

At a step 410, the operator disconnects from the line when the thirdparty verification system connects or a short time before or after thethird party verification systems connects. This is known as a blindtransfer. Next, at a step 412, the interactive voice response unit(I.V.R.U.) queries and records customer information including but notlimited to personal information regarding the potential customer. Thisinformation is temporarily stored in digital or analog format on thevoice response unit.

Next, at a step 414, the interactive voice response unit queries thepotential customer regarding consent to change long distance serviceproviders and records the response. At a step 416 the process isterminated.

Alternatively, the operator may initiate a conference and transferhandoff as shown in steps 420-426. At a step 420, the operator stays onthe line. Next, at a step 422 the operator queries the customer forpersonal information and records this information. At a step 424, theoperator queries the customer for consent to change service providers,or any other question for which recorded verification is desired. Uponobtaining consent the call is terminated, step 426.

FIG. 5 illustrates a more detailed operational flow chart of oneexemplary method of operation of third party verification recording bytelephone. This operational flow chart provides a more detaileddescription of steps 404-416 shown in FIG. 4.

At a step 502, the voice response unit of the third party verificationsystem accepts the call from an outside party or other system, such asan operator requiring third party verification. Next at a step 504, thevoice response unit creates a record to store data from the potentialcustomer. This record, as shown in FIG. 3, may include data as from DTMFtones or recorded voice or video clips of responses.

Next, at a step 506, the operation monitors for the proper access codesfrom the party requesting access to the third party verification system.Access codes or authorization code may be automatically sent from therequesting party telephone or may be manually entered as DTMF tones.

Upon gaining access to the system the operation progresses to a step 508wherein the voice response unit transmits or plays voice scripts to theone or more parties connected to voice response unit, including thepotential customer. It is anticipated that at least part of the voicescript from the voice response unit requests interaction by thepotential customer. Hence, at a step 510, the voice response unitcaptures the responses to the voice scripts.

In one alternative embodiment at least one question from the voiceresponse unit is whether the potential customer consents to a particularstatement and requests the potential customer to press a particulartelephone key to express a particular response to a question from thevoice response unit. The response of the DTMF tone directs the thirdparty verification system to one or more branches to facilitate variouslines of potential questioning.

Next, at a step 512, the voice response unit stores the voice responsesto the questions or requests posed by the voice response unit. Theseverbal responses are digitized and temporarily stored in the voiceresponse unit.

Next, the operation progresses to a decision step 514 wherein theoperation determines if the voice scripts are complete. If the voicescripts are not complete, the operation returns to a step 508 whereinadditional voice scripts are transmitted.

If at step 514, the voice script process is complete, the operationprogresses to a decision step 516. Here the operation determines whethercustomer consent was provided or whether the desired response wasobtained such that the record electronically existing in the voiceresponse unit should be written to the voice print server. If thedesired response was not obtained then the process terminates and therecord information in the voice response unit is deleted. Alternatively,the record information in the voice response unit may be stored in afile containing failed or non-consenting records.

In one embodiment a speech recognition algorithm is utilized todetermine if the desired response was provided. In another embodimentthe voice response unit requests that in addition to a verbal response,a button be pressed to generate a DTMF tone to confirm a response.

If the potential customer provided the desired consent, the operationprogresses to a step 518, wherein the voice response unit concatenatesthe recording of the personal information and the verbal consent orverbal responses to one or more particular questions, such as a desireto change long distance service providers. Next, at a step 520, thevoice response unit forwards the data record over the network to thevoice print server for cataloging and storage.

At a step 522, a voice print server data base program logs the recordinto data base storage system. Thereafter the operation progresses tostep 524 wherein the call is terminated.

In this manner the vocal consent of the person or entity is recorded andstored using the third party verification system such that it may beretrieved as a form of verification at a later time.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example method of operation for establishing athird party verification via the Internet. Using this example method ofoperation, a potential customer may initiate the process of changinglong distance service providers. At a step 600, the potential customerconnects to the third party verification web site and may optionallyobtain information regarding any of a number of difference goods orservices and personally select one of the goods or services to purchase.

Next, at a step 602, the operation requests that the customer enterpersonal information about themselves. Next, at a step 604, theoperation verifies the potential customer's personal data.

At a step 606, the operation requests the potential customer to enterand upload an identification password or ID number. The identificationpassword identifies the person to provide a verification of identity.For example, the identification password or ID number may be sent to theindividual via mail to a verified address or may be provided bytelephone at a verified telephone number. The ID number or passwordidentifies the person for establishing verification. In an alternativeembodiment, the third party verification web site detects the customersIP address based on ANI numbers or on packet switch data addresses.

Next, at a step 608, the operation establishes a voice link with thepotential customer to facilitate recordation of a voice sampleindicating consent to the change or query. For example, potentialcustomer may consent to change long distance telephone service providersby transmitting a voice signal to the third party verification system.In an alternative embodiment, an audio file of the consent is recordedat the customer computer and uploaded to the third party verificationsystem. In yet another embodiment the verification is recorded in avideo format by a camera connected to the potential customer's computeror to a general use terminal for public use. This information is storedand at a step 612, the process terminates.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary method of operation for retrieving theverification by telephone. A need exists to retrieve the recorded andstored verbal verification so that if, at a later time, verification ofthe consent or other response can be provided to a requesting party. Theprocess of retrieving stored verification data comprises first callingthe third party verification system, in this embodiment, by telephone ata step 700. Next, at a step 702, the calling party enters anidentification number to gain access to the system. It is anticipatedthat the calling party be the client, such as a long distance serviceprovider. In certain configurations parties other than the client may beprovided access to the data stored in the third party verificationsystem. Other such authorized individuals include the FCC orcompetitors.

Next, at a step 704, the client enters a password as a secondrequirement to gain access to the system. In alternative embodiment,access occurs automatically based on an analysis of the caller IDinformation of the calling party.

Next, at a step 706, the calling party enters the record number forwhich the verification is being sought. In one embodiment the recordnumber is the telephone number for which long distance service is to bechanged. In another embodiment the record number is randomly assigned.In one embodiment the requesting party generates DTMF tones to providethe record number. In another embodiment speech recognition software inconjunction with vocal input by the user to provide the record number.

Next, at a step 708, the third party verification system provides recorddata to the requesting party so that the requesting party may verifythat the system retrieved the proper record. In one embodiment therecord data provided at a step 708 includes name, address and somepersonal data such as birth date or mothers maiden name.

At a step 710, the requesting party connects a parties to the thirdparty verification system so that the party connected to the third partyverification system may listen to the voice recording of the recordedconsent, step 712.

In reference to FIG. 1, the potential customer or an independent fourthparty 140 such as the FCC or a prior provider of long distance serviceto the customer may request access to the verification system. In such acase, the client would call the third party verification system and,upon obtaining the proper record, patch in or connect the FCC or priorservice provider to the call so that they can listen to the recordedverification.

FIG. 8 illustrates an operational flow diagram of yet another embodimentof the present invention of one method of retrieving verification dataover a computer network, such as the Internet. One general method ofoperation is shown in FIG. 8 wherein at a step 800, the client (user ofthe third party verification system) connects to a web site of the thirdparty verification system. Once connected, the client enters theiridentification, step 802, and password, step 804. These steps controlaccess to the web site.

Next, at a step 806, the operation queries the user for a record numberor customer number. Upon uploading the record number to the web siteserver, the web site server accesses the voice printer server anddownloads to the client of the third party verification system recordinformation such as name, address and social security number of thecustomer identified by the record. This information is displayed onscreen at the client machine. This allows the client to verify that theverification system retrieved the proper record from the voice printserver.

Next, at a step 810, the operation allows the client to download theverification. In one embodiment the verification is a voice file of thecustomer that is downloaded to the client computer via the Internet. Inanother embodiment the verification is a video file containing videofootage of a customer that is downloaded to the client computer via theInternet. The verification provides independent and third party obtainedconfirmation that the customer consented or responded in a particularmanner to previous questions.

Next, at a step 812 the client provides the verification to the customeror to any party requesting the verification. In one embodiment whereinthe party seeking the verification is connected to the client viatelephone, audio verification is played to the party over the telephoneor the audio file is transferred to the party, such as via e-mail. Inanother embodiment video verification is provided to the party viae-mail or video telephone.

FIG. 9 illustrates in detail a method of operation of retrieving thirdparty verification over a computer connection such as the Internet. In astep 900, the client uploads a welcome screen from the third partyverification web server. Next, at a step 902 the third partyverification web server obtains and verifies the user identification andpassword against an existing data bases established by the operators ofthe third party verification system.

At a step 904, the web server obtains the record number from the clientaccessing the web site to gain the verification. In other embodimentsthe web site is advantageously accessible by others besides the client,such as customers, government agencies or competitors.

At a step 906, the web server accesses the voice print server to obtainthe record data. Upon finding the data the web server causes theoperation to upload the data to the accessing party's computer anddisplay the record data on the display, step 908. Most often this dataappears as a textual display. Transfer of data via a computer network,such as the Internet is known by those of ordinary skill in the art andaccordingly is not described in great detail herein.

If the displayed information indicates that the web server retrieved thedesired record then at a step 910, the web server would receive arequest from the client for the verification file. The verification filemay comprise data in an audio, video or other similar format thatprovides confirmation or verification of a response by a potentialcustomer, individual, or entity. In one example embodiment, theverification file is an audio clip of a potential long distancetelephone service customer consenting to change long distance serviceproviders.

Next, at a step 912, the web server performs a conversion process on thevoice print file to alter the alter the file to a format that may beunderstood by a personal computer connected to the computer network. Inone example embodiment a Dialogic voice capture card records the voiceof the party as they respond to questions. The recorded responses areconverted to a digital format and are stored in an ADPCM format(adaptive differential pulse code modulation). In general, the ADPCMformat is not compatible with personal computers and hence it must beconverted to a new format, such as WAV format. This occurs at the step912.

Next, at a step 914, the web server uploads the converted voice printfile to the requesting party, such as for example, the client. Theclient can then listen to the voice print on their computer.Alternatively, the voice print can be patched into and played for acaller requesting verification or downloaded, such as via e-mail, to anydesired party.

At decision step 916, the web server queries the client to downloadadditional voice prints. If the client desires to access and downloadadditional voice prints the process returns to a step 904. In the clientdoes not have any other voice prints to down load then the operationprogresses to a step 918, wherein the operation terminates, such as byautomatically logging the client or user out of the web server.

5. Voice Fingerprint System

In another embodiment the above described third party verificationsystem includes a voice fingerprint system configured to compare two ormore samples of voice and pattern match the voice samples to determineif the two or more samples were spoken by the same individual. Anembodiment of the present invention having the voice fingerprint systemincludes a hardware interface within the voice response unit. The voicefingerprint system analyzes a voice sample, such as a person speakingtheir first and last name. This voice sample analysis is stored and maybe appended to the record data or stored separately. The voice sample isthe voice fingerprint of the individual whereby through the use ofcomplex sampling and statistical analysis a unique identification of thespeaker's speech patterns, inflections, tone, and speech speed iscreated. This unique identification or fingerprint is then cataloged andstored with the particular record number.

If, at a later time, the consent or response of a person is questionedor if verification beyond that provided by the process described inFIGS. 4-9 is required, the stored voice finger print may be compared toa second sample taken from the individual. For example, if theindividual refutes the recorded verification then they can call andundergo a second sampling, such as by speaking their first and lastname. The voice fingerprint system analyzes the second sample andcompares the results of the second sample to the stored results of thefirst sample. If the sample results match, then further conformation orverification is achieved. An example voice verification systemcompatible with this embodiment of the present invention is availablefrom Nuance Communications of Menlo Park, Calif.

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate an operational flow diagram of an exampleprocess of the present invention having speech pattern recognition. Theprocess is now discussed. Referring to FIG. 10A, at a step 1002, theoperation contacts a party to obtain consent or a particular response.Next, at a step 1004, a voice response unit proposes questions to theparty. The operation, at step 1006, records the responses to thequestions. A single or a plurality of response may be recorded.

Next, at a step 1008, the operation performs speech pattern analysis onthe recorded responses. In one embodiment the analysis occurs in realtime when the party makes the response. In another embodiment theanalysis occurs after the voice response unit records the response.

At a step 1010, the operation catalogs and stores the responses on astorage media, such as a hard disk drive. Once stored, the recordedresponse and analysis may be retrieved at a later date.

In reference to FIG. 10B, an operational flow diagram of a examplemethod of retrieving the stored response and analysis and performing thevoice verification. This process involves the sampling of a secondspeech sample so that the system can perform a second analysis andsubsequently compare the two analysis to provide further verification ofidentity.

Turning now to FIG. 10B, at a step 1020 a user or requestor ofverification provides a data file identifier, often in the form of anumeric identifier, to the system. This identifies the data file,containing the response and analysis data, at the exclusion of otherdata files.

Next, at a step 1022, the operation retrieves the data file from storagedevice. At a step 1024, the operation plays the recording of theresponse for the requestor. The playing of the response is a first formof verification.

Next, at decision step 1026, the operation inquires whether additionalverification is required. If at step 1026 the requestor desires furtherverification the operation progresses to a step 1028 wherein the systemobtains a second voice sample from the party in question. It iscontemplated that at least one voice response from the party be providedthat is the same word or words as contained in the first recordedresponse. The second voice sample is preferably obtain from the partywith a known identity. Thus, the identity of the second voice sampleprovider is preferably independently verified by some form ofidentification.

Next, at a step 1030, the operation performs speech pattern analysis onthe second speech sample. In one embodiment this analysis is the sametype of analysis as performed in step 1008 of FIG. 10A.

Next, at a step 1032, the operation compares the analysis results fromthe first speech pattern analysis, which were retrieved from storage,with the analysis of the second speech sample. This comparison revealsif the same party spoke the first speech sample and the second speechsample.

Next, at step 1034, the operation provides the results of the comparisonto the requester. These may be provided via a computer network, over anInternet connection, audibly over a telephone connection, or any othermeans suitable for communicating results of the comparison. At a step1036, the session is complete. Likewise, if at decision step 1026 therequester does not require additional verification, the operationprogresses to step 1036 and the session is complete.

While particular embodiments and examples of the present invention havebeen described above, it should be understood that they have beenpresented by way of example only and not as limitations. Those ofordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that other variousembodiments or configurations adopting the principles of the subjectinvention are possible. The breadth and scope of the present inventionis defined by the following claims and their equivalents, and is notlimited by the particular embodiments described herein.

1. A method of obtaining and providing a third party verificationservice comprising: recording and storing verification comprisingestablishing a first communication link between an individual and averification system; receiving and recording data over said firstcommunication link at said verification system; storing said data on averification system storage device; retrieving said verificationcomprising; establishing a second communication link between a clientcomputer and said verification system; logging said client computer ontosaid verification system; receiving a request for said data from saidclient computer; retrieving said data from said verification systemstorage device; and uploading said data from said verification system tosaid client computer wherein said client computer may utilize said datafor verification.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said establishing afirst communication link comprises establishing a communication link bytelephone over the public switched telephone network.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further including the step of converting data to a personalcomputer compatible format after said retrieving said data from saidverification system storage device.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinsaid second communication link utilizes an internet.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said data is an audio file containing voice responsesfrom said individual.
 6. The method of claim 1, further including thestep of playing said audio file over a telephone connection to a partyrequesting verification.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said methodis intended to provide verification for a long distance telephoneservice provider.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein said method isintended to provide verification for a utility service provider.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further including the steps of: performing speechpattern analysis on said data received over said first communicationlink; obtaining additional data after said receiving and recording dataover said first communication link; performing speech pattern analysison said additional data; and comparing results of said speech patternanalysis performed on said data received over said first communicationlink to results of said speech pattern analysis performed on saidadditional data.